Jüsto Raises US$65 Million to Scale Operations in Latin America
Home > Tech > Article

Jüsto Raises US$65 Million to Scale Operations in Latin America

Photo by:   Mexico Business News
Share it!
Andrea Villar By Andrea Villar | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 02/10/2021 - 09:59

Mexico’s first online supermarket Jüsto made history by raising US$65 million in a round led by General Atlantic. This was the largest Series A raised in Latin America in the past decade, said the company in a statement. Existing investors Foundation Capital and Mountain Nazca also participated in the financing round. “Our mission at Jüsto is to become Latin America’s favorite supermarket within the next decade. We strongly believe that this vision, combined with our expertise in technology, logistics and customer service, will lead to an even more seamless, more affordable online shopping experience for our consumers,” said Ricardo Weder, CEO of Jüsto. In addition to financing its expansion in Latin America, these funds will be allocated to improve last-mile logistics and marketing. 

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of e-commerce worldwide. In Mexico, online sales already represent 9 percent of national retail, according to the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO). “We never imagined how much impact our day-to-day was going to have in such a short time. We launched operations in September 2019, so most of our processes are still a work in progress. Hence, over the last couple of weeks, we had to iterate and evolve faster to keep operations going. We had a 300 percent increase in demand from one day to the next. However, we are stepping up to the challenge,” Ricardo Weder told MBN back in June.

Jüsto’s business model caught the attention of investors only two months after its launch. In November 2019, the platform raised its first seed round investment of US$10 million. Today it has raised over US$100 million.

“Mexico is at an inflection point in its transition toward a digital economy and we see Jüsto leading the way in the high-growth online grocery space with its technology-centric, mission-driven approach,” said Managing Director and Head of Mexico City for General Atlantic Luis Cervantes. “Under Ricardo’s leadership, we believe Jüsto is positioned for significant expansion as it disrupts and transforms the legacy grocery value chain.”

Martin Escobari, Co-President, Managing Director and Head of Latin America for General Atlantic, noted that the company’s model has resonated with consumers looking for new ways to buy groceries online, as well as with suppliers “seeking more direct engagement within the ecosystem.” This marks General Atlantic's fifth investment in Mexico since 2014 when it first ventured into the country. The company has since invested nearly US$1 billion in high-growth Mexican companies like the payments startup Clip. 

The online supermarket environment in Mexico is made up of four major companies, however, including Uber, Rappi and even Amazon that has bet heavily on the grocery segment. In early February, Uber kicked off the integration of Cornershop into its platform in Mexico to offer the supermarket option to its users.

Photo by:   Mexico Business News

You May Like

Most popular

Newsletter